Quaternary ammonium salts such as 1,2-ditallowyl oxy-3-trimethyl ammoniopropane chloride are known as effective fabric conditioning agents which are also biodegradable as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,137,180; 4,767,547 and 4,789,491. The biodegradable cationic diester compounds described in column 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,180 are preferred fabric conditioning molecules.
However, it has been observed that these fabric conditioning molecules degrade by hydrolization of one of the ester moieties from the molecule resulting in a monoester form of the molecules which at certain levels may cause aquatic toxicity.
Therefore, there is a need for novel molecules which are both effective fabric conditioners and which are biodegradable.